Please don't forget to read the bulletin board. Enter +read from anywhere.

Alex, local three tailed kitsune, cheated death this week while exploring the rift area of SpinDizzy. The rift, located at N8 E3 from the Rose Garden, has been a source of scientific and amateur exploration since making itself known a few years ago.

Found after the crash of a ship, authorities believe it to be a symptom of the north end of SpinDizzy breaking away, much as it is theorised Spengo did many years ago. Although tectonic activity seems to have reduced lately, earthquakes and landslides still plague the area. In spite of the dangers, it is a popular place for sight-seeing and scientific study.

Alex had decided to try climbing down the outer edge of the rift when he slipped. The surface around the rift is very dense, smooth stone, and it is difficult to climb. Luckily, Alex's three tails got caught in a small crevice in the wall of the rift. Although he was exploring alone, which is never a wise choice in a dangerous environment like the rift, Alex had the foresight to bring a flare gun. Realizing he needed help, he fired the flare which drew the attention of Butterfluff, local fluff, Adara, local morphic cat, Patch O'Black, local jellicle cat, and Argon, local centaur. The four raced to the rift, and quickly surveyed the situation.

Adara tried throwing a rope to Alex, but as the cliff face curved inwards, Alex was unable to grab it. A suggestion that having someone who could fly would be a help, reminded Butterfluff that it could. By puffing its breath, Butterfluff expanded into a fluff balloon. A basket was attached, and Patch and Adara climbed in. Argon secured a rope to the fluff and the other end to a tree because of the air drafts the rift is known for. As the balloon was getting ready to take off, Alex exclaimed that one of his tails had broken loose of the crevice!

With the guidance of Patch, Butterfluff moved itself into position so Adara could toss the rope and lasso Alex. As Alex reached for the rope, another tail worked loose! He missed the rope, and was now hanging by one tail. Adara's next toss was accurate, and Alex managed to secure the rope around his waist just as his third tail worked loose. He fell, but was caught by the rope.

The sudden weight strained Butterfluff's lifting capabilities, but by huffing and puffing, and Argon using his equine weight and strength to help pull the fluff up, Alex's paws were soon on the ground. it was a struggle, but Butterfluff managed to get over land before the basket Adara and Patch were in fell apart. The collapse of the basket dropped Patch and Adara to the ground, but being felines, they landed on their paws. Alex was pulled to safety by Terry, local technicolor pangolin. who stopped by just long enough to pull Alex's boots off as he hit the ground, and then left. Argon ended up getting tangled in the securing rope.

With a few slices of his knife, Alex cut Argon loose from the rope. Patch and Adara found themselves to be ok and after a few minutes of recovery time, Butterfluff, who had saved the day, was back to fluffelescence! Alex thanked his rescuers, and everyone patted each other on the back for a job well done!

You speak how many languages?

Well, one. English. Sort of. But a lot of Japanese gets tossed around in the Rose Garden, and a smattering of other languages.*

Let's start with a few greetings.

• Latin: Ave! (to a single person) Avete! (to more than one)
• Japanese: Konnichi wa.
• Hawai'ian: Aloha.
• French: Bon jour.
• Spanish: Buenos dias.
• Welsh: Good day: Bore da. Good evening: Noswaith dda.

• Japanese: Domo arigato.
• French: Merci. Merci beaucoup (thank you very much.)
• Portuguese: Obrigado
• Spanish: Gracias.
• Russian: Spawseebaw (inadequately transliterated, sorry)
• Welsh: Diolch. Diolch yn fawr.(Thank you very much.)

• Sugoi :neat, cool
• Hai! :yes
• Iye! :no
• And the ever popular trio
  • Wakarimaska? :Do you understand?
  • Wakarimasu. :I understand.
  • Wakarimasen. :I do not understand.

*No political views are to be implied by my selection of words and languages or their order, droog. Mind like a mouse trap, and some day, I'll figure out how to let some of the mice go. All of the entries are from memory -- corrections welcome. If your favorite language isn't mentioned, talk to me and we can include you in the next article.

Fruitbat investigators, under the advice of an anonymous tip off, uncovered the hide out of an insidious trash can collection ring that has been pilfering trashcans from all over SpinDizzy. Many of the cans, found in a burnt out field when recovered were damaged beyond recognition, with bizarre holes drilled in their sides, buzz saws and cameras attached. While the reason for these modifications is unknown, this has sparked interest with Fruitbat Labs, and possible self-mobile trashcans may soon be in our future. “Imagine being able to drop an orange rind, and having the can be there before it hits the floor? Imagine not having to wake up early in the morning to move the can to the curb, well...that’s just the beginning!”

The invention has sparked apprehension from self interest groups, worried that these new garbage cans may present an undesirable element. "I don't think this is a very good idea, the last thing I need is my stinky garbage following me around wherever I might go!" says one concerned citizen. “Now our garbage watches us!” Fruitbat will attempt to address these issues, as well as other universal concerns, such as making the trashcans raccoon safe, during its test and trial phase, expected to take several weeks.

i wannatell you all bout how to write good tomnay times peeps dun bother to check thier spellin anna its gettin hard to unnerstand

Hard to understand that, eh? Now, let me communicate more clearly. As some of you may know, a lot of us on SpinDizzy are trying to encourage clearer communication. Because, lets face it, we're a text based world here, so everything we do, see and say is the result of someone somewhere pressing keys on a keyboard.

Since we 'see' and 'hear' each other by what we type, how we type is how others perceive us. If we type and spell sloppily, without taking a moment to look over our spelling, and use proper punctuation, we appear lazy, or worse, as though we don't respect or care enough about those we are communicating with to give them the courtesy of doing so in a way that is understandable.

They say that "If you live in a glass house, you shouldn't throw stones," and I am the first to admit that my typing and spelling skills aren't the best. But I am making an effort to improve. And that's what we all should do. Put a period or an exclamation mark at the end of your sentence. Capitalise the first word in a sentence and other words that require it. Take the time to spell out abbreviations, and watch your spelling. Imagine if I had written this article without using the rules of proper english...

a lot of popleon spinidzzy r tryin to encouage more better communicatopon sinse spindizzy is txt based everthing we does see an say is from some hyooman somplace pressing kerys on a keyboard

if what all we kno bout each other is what we see on out compoter screens then not bothering to check how we spell or how we puintuate can make the peeps we are talkin to think we dun care enuf bout them to bother doing it right or maybee make them think were lazy or ignerant

course i'm not one to talk bout how to spell or tipe but I tryuing to do better And thata all thats bein asked Not to be a perfek typest but to at lease make an effart by useing good puntuation cheking spellin and using caps for the firt werd in the sentance and where tjhey're sposed to b

Pretty hard to make it out, isn't it? If I hadn't included the correct version first, you may have given up on the article after the first few words. Having an utter disregard for proper spelling, grammer and punctuation just isn't acceptable. It shows disrespect to those who you communicate with. So try and make yourself look intellegent and caring to others. This isn't to say perfection is expected, we all make typos and mistakes. We're only human after all,

...or are we?

Welcome to latest edition of Bearing up, the advice column where Ba'ar (That's me!) has answers to your most challenging questions.

Dear Bearing Up,
Why doesn't Austin have stripes? And what happened to the CIB? (Coatis in Black?) Also, wasn't there a Great Conspiracy at one point to turn the MU into a "benevolent dictatorship" but it was overturned by wallabies?
Casmiir"

Dear Casimir,
Austin doesn't have stripes because he was in need of a change and washed them off with magical soap. Second, the Coati's in Black are just a rumor put out by various parties to sow distrust in the governement (remember! The government is your friend!). Finally it was a great conspiracy to turn the MU into a 'benevolent dictatorship', but it was perpetrated by the wallabies of the SED, but our beloved police force led by Brenda put a stop to it.

Remember possums (to steal a term from Dame Edna ;-D), if you have any questions, please page mail me (Ba'ar) online or send mail to big_bear@operamail.com. Thanks.

This week, Brenda did the survey. She asked folks, "I'm doing the @Action News Survey for this week. My question, inspired by Pandamonia, is "What is your (or your character's) catchphrase?"

• Pandamonia says, "My catchphrase. 'There is no honor in work, there is only honor in the man. Not everyone can be an assassin.' "
• Joe @joes! "With a 3/4" Torque Wrench and a breaker bar, nothing is impossible!"
• Lance quotes: " I'm a pretty little cupcake...Baked by the devil."
• Argon's is, 'Horse-like but not like a horse,' of course.
• Brenda says, "'You have to be crazy to stay sane!'" =^.^=
• Sage whispers, "Don't take life to seriously, you'll never make it out alive"
• Findra thinks her catchphrase must be 'S'Findra be FLUFFy!'  Or at least, that's what Flutterz seems to think. ;)
• Butterfluff says, "TANSTAAFL" (There Ain't No Such Thing As A Free Lunch)
• Lilahfae ohs!  Knows what her catchphrase can be, "The secret to long life and prosperity:  don't spin too fast."
• Nikon's catch phrase is 'Churr?'
• Rown hasn't been caught yet so he doesn't have a catch phrase!
• Terry says "Catchphrases are overrated."
• Slug's catchprase is definitely, "My work here is done."
• Gilead chirps, "Does sighing count as a catchphrase? :-/"
• Daylin doesn't have a catchphrase.
• Cye says, "I.A.C: I am cute."
• PatchO'Black sings and dances.
• Hefon rumbles, "Once I have a catchprase, I will run for mayor of spindizzy. I have no experience whatsoever, so I am sure to win."
• Daylin says, "P.F.M." (Pure Frikin Magic. ^.^)
• Beth pages, "How about, "Chill sugar, it snow problem."
• KevMan pages, "I haven't said it yet but 'Don't be scared, I'm here to help' sounds good. :)
• Felina pages, "How about 'Hi! :)'"
• Adara purrs, "Are there any cases to hear?"

@Action News Returning to Sunday Publication

With Argon, local centaur and @Action News editor's job going back to normal hours, @Action News, SpinDizzy's source for all the news that fits, will return to its normal weekly publication as a Sunday paper. This change will take place with the paper's publication Saturday night, September 30th, for the Sunday, September 31st edition.

Publication will take place at or near midnight, Eastern time on each Saturday night / Sunday morning. Articles and stories should be sent to argon@spindizzy.org

Thank you for your support of @Action News

Argon
Editor, @Action News

Mysterious Virus Infecting Many!
Health and Wellness

A mysterious virus has begun infecting residents of Spindizzy. Current estimates indicate that as many as 25 people could be infected, with the infection rate rising every day. Symptoms of the virus are very mild, with most only having the vague feeling that they have something mostly harmless. The incubation time or method of transmission is currently unknown. There is no cure at the moment, but it is hoped that one of the many research labs here on Spindizzy can find one. In the meantime, be on the lookout for the known symptoms and contact your doctor if they worsen.

Submitting a story or artwork for @Action News is easy! Just send it to newspaper@spindizzy.org or qmail or page Argon about it.
@Action News is published weekly on or after 12:01 AM Eastern Time on Monday. Most any type of story or article will be accepted. Generally, we'd prefer things that aren't out and out lies or flames about other folks, and have a basis in the reality of SpinDizzy. Things that occur in public areas are fair game. The things reported don't have to have actually happened, (any more than anything that happens here does) but make sure you don't overstep the social boundaries and rules of interaction that we have. These are pretty broad guidelines, but we expect good sense to apply.

Thanks! Argon, Editor @Action News